Saint James the Brother of God in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church (2 of 2)

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint James, the Brother of God, became the first bishop of Jerusalem. He was also the first to write the Divine Liturgy, as he had learned it from the Lord Himself. Saint Basil the Great subsequently shortened this liturgy, and after him the divine Chrysostom did likewise, because of human weakness. Since James shepherded the Church of Jerusalem and, through his teaching, brought many of the Jews and Gentiles to believe in the Lord, he provoked the anger of the Jews. They therefore seized him and threw him from the pinnacle of the Temple, thereby killing him. 

The following account comes from Tradition concerning why he is called the Brother of God. When Joseph, who was betrothed to the Virgin, was distributing among the children of his first wife the land he possessed, he wished to give a portion also to the Son and God born of the Holy Virgin. The others who were regarded as His brothers refused to accept Him, but James took Him as a co-heir to his own portion. For this reason, he was called not only the Brother of God, but also the Just.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 23

The Month of October

Day 23

54. We Must Pray for Our Enemies, Too

(From the Life of the Apostle James, the Brother of the Lord according to the Flesh)

What duties do we have toward our enemies? First, we must love them, as the Lord said: “Love your enemies” (Matthew 5:44). Second, we must do good to them, as the Apostle says: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink” (Romans 12:20). Third, we must not take revenge on our enemies, as the word of God teaches: “Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath of God” (Romans 12:19). And fourth and finally, we must pray for our enemies. But how do we know that this last duty is required of us? How is it revealed that we must pray even for our enemies?

Holy Equal the the Apostles and Wonderworker Abercius in the Hymnography of the Orthodox Church

By Fr. George Dorbarakis

1. Saint Abercius became bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia during the reign of Marcus Antoninus, and he performed many miracles and healings. For example, when wine, oil, and yet another substance were placed together in a vessel, through his prayer he caused this mixture to remain unmixed, that is, each substance to remain what it was. On another occasion, he commanded a demon to transport an enormous stone from Rome to Phrygia. He placed this stone as a pillar over his tomb. Again, he prayed, and hot waters emerged from the depths of the earth. Having lived the remainder of his life in holiness and righteousness, he departed to the Lord.

Kazan Icon of the Mother of God Resource Page

The original Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (1579), photographed in the late nineteenth century; shown beneath its jeweled covering. It was stolen in 1904, and remains missing to this day.

Synaxis of the Kaplunovka Icon of the 

Kazan Mother of God

 

Commemorated on September 11

Synaxis of the Kaplunovka Icon of the Kazan Mother of God

 

 

Commemoration of the Miraculous Deliverance 
of Moscow and Russia from the Poles in 1612

and the Celebration of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God 

Commemorated on October 22

 

Commemoration of the Miraculous Deliverance of Moscow and Russia from the Poles in 1612

 

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 22 

 

October: Day 22: Teaching 1: Celebration in Honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God 

 

October: Day 22: Teaching 2: Celebration in Honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God 

 

October: Day 22: Teaching 3: Celebration in Honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God 

 

Homily One for the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (St. Innocent of Kherson) 

 

Homily One on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (St. John of Kronstadt) 

 

Homily Two on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (St. John of Kronstadt) 

 

Homily One for the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov) 

 

 

The Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God 

in the City of Kazan

 

Commemorated on July 8 

 

The Appearance of the Icon of the Mother of God in the City of Kazan (1579)

 

Homily One on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Homily Two on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Homily Three on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (St. Luke of Simferopol)

 

Miraculous Kazan Icon Taken by Nazi to Germany in World War 2 is Returned to Russia 

 

 

Synaxis of the Kazan-Yaroslavl Icon 

of the Mother of God

 

Commemorated on July 8  

Synaxis of the Kazan-Yaroslavl Icon of the Mother of God 

 

 

Homily Two on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (St. John of Kronstadt)

 

Homily Two on the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God 

By St. John of Kronstadt

"O fervent Protectress, Mother of the Lord Most High! You pray to Your Son, Christ our God, for all, and You bring salvation to all who flee to Your mighty protection." (Troparion of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God)

Hear, brothers and sisters, what the Holy Church sings concerning our Most Holy Lady, the Queen and Mother of God. She sings: “O fervent Protectress, You pray to Your Son, Christ our God, for all, and You bring salvation to all who flee to Your mighty protection.” These words of the Holy Church concerning the Most Holy Mother of God are the purest truth. They describe what continually takes place, for the Most Holy Theotokos, in Her maternal love for us, intercedes for us before the throne of God day and night. “Day and night You pray for us,” the Holy Church says to Her in the midnight service, and “the scepters of kingdoms are established through Your prayers.”

Homily One for the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God (Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov)

Homily One for the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

By Archimandrite Kirill Pavlov 

 

(Delivered on October 22, 1960)

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit!

Beloved brothers and sisters, today we solemnly commemorate in prayer and glorify the manifestation of the Mother of God's mercy toward Orthodox Russia, which was expressed in the miraculous deliverance of our beloved fatherland from the invasion of foreign forces in 1612.

Our ancestors, the Russian people, loved the Mother of God and possessed a special, profound faith in Her heavenly intercession for the Christian race. In their sorrows and calamities, they always turned to Her with fervent prayer. Although entire countries regarded the Most Holy Virgin as their Protectress and venerated Her, in our fatherland the name of the Mother of God was surrounded by a special veneration—immeasurably greater than anywhere else. The Mother of God poured forth Her grace and mercy upon no other land as abundantly as She did upon the Russian land. In practically every Russian city there is a source of the Mother of God's grace: Her wonderworking icons, through which She has willed to give people a heavenly pledge of Her love and to serve as a Consolation to suffering humanity. Our people loved to call the Mother of God by special names befitting Her heavenly protection and mercy, and the Mother of God did not allow their faith to be in vain, but granted swift help to everyone who asked, as well as to our fatherland as a whole.

Homily One for the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos (St. Innocent of Kherson)

Homily One for the Feast of the Kazan Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos 

By St. Innocent of Kherson

Three weeks ago, we celebrated the feast of the Protection of the Most Holy Theotokos. The event commemorated by that feast is joyful in itself, but in some respects it may seem somewhat remote to us Russians, since it took place in Greece a full thousand years before our own day. As we celebrated the feast of the Protection of the Invincible Commander over Byzantium, it was quite natural to wonder: Is the Most Holy Virgin as merciful toward us as She was toward the Byzantines, who shared our faith? Can we point to any event in the history of our fatherland comparable to the Protection of Constantinople by the Most Holy Theotokos? Today, brethren, provides the answer—and the most joyful answer it is. For today we celebrate an event that most clearly demonstrates that the protection of the Mother of God extends over our fatherland as well. To the glory of the Most Holy Virgin, and to increase our spiritual joy in this, allow me, brethren, to recount this event to you, at least in its principal details.

October: Day 22: Teaching 3: Celebration in Honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

October: Day 22: Teaching 3:
Celebration in Honor of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God
 
(What Event Was the Feast Established to Commemorate?)

By Archpriest Grigory Dyachenko

I. The present feast in honor of the wonderworking Kazan Icon of the Mother of God was established in memory of the deliverance of the Russian state in 1612, through the intercession of the Queen of Heaven, from the power and dominion of the Poles.

Taking advantage of the fact that the royal dynasty had all but died out and that complete anarchy had ensued, with all its terrible consequences, the Poles conceived the plan of seizing the Russian kingdom and came very close to succeeding. Moscow, along with nearly half the kingdom, was already in their hands. Fortunately for the Russian people, the cities of Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, and others were still free from the hardships and disorders of that time. Guided by Minin and Pozharsky, whose names are forever remembered in history, they did not delay in coming to the aid of their perishing fatherland.

Homilies from the Menaion for Every Day of the Year: October 22

 

The Month of October

Day 22

53. On the Mercies of the Queen of Heaven Toward Our Fatherland

(The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God)

Today, brethren, we intend to set before you the truth that the mercies of the Queen of Heaven toward our fatherland are innumerable.

Behold, today we recall how, in 1612, under Prince Pozharsky, a small handful of exhausted soldiers, encouraged by the sole hope of the intercession of the Mother of God, was inspired with steadfast courage, advanced to destroy the enemy, and defeated them. Thus, the Orthodox faith of our Church remained intact, the succession to the throne remained secure, and the people's possessions were wrested from the greedy hands of the Poles and Russian traitors. Moreover, the former lost all hope of ruling, while the latter lost the ability to wreak havoc in Russia.

And all this took place after the true sons of Russia had entrusted themselves and their homeland entirely to the protection of the Sovereign Lady. Thus, today we recall Her benefaction, especially memorable because She bestowed it upon us at that disastrous time when our fatherland seemed to stand quite literally on the brink of utter destruction.